


until we meet again

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Series: Near Miss AU [3]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/F, F/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24063523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: There, smiling apologetically at David over Sarah’s shoulder and looking rather stunned herself, is Katie Pulitzer.Sarah introduces David to her new girlfriend.
Relationships: Racetrack Higgins & David Jacobs, Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon & David Jacobs, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins, past David Jacobs/Katherine Plumber
Series: Near Miss AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735408
Comments: 28
Kudos: 75





	until we meet again

**Author's Note:**

> A small jump back in time, here is the day Sarah "introduced" Kate and David.  
> This is about four years before the beginning of Near Miss. Spot and Race are referred to by given names throughout, Katherine is called Kate in the narration, bc this is a David who is much closer to college than NM narrating.
> 
> Hope you like it :D I'm pretty happy with this one.

Leah is fussing. David knows, though, that if he picks her up right now the perishable groceries will never get put away, because juggling Leah and frozen tater tots is a dangerous game that he always loses. As soon as he’s got the groceries away, he scoops her up.

“I’m sorry for keepin’ you waiting, Leah-bee,” he says. She calms down almost immediately once he has her in his arms, and he cradles her close to his chest. He’s enjoying the moment, his sleepy toddler curled up in his arms and nothing on his schedule for the rest of the day, when his doorbell rings.

It startles Leah, who starts squirming and whining again.

“Who is it?” David asks. He bounces Leah in his arms, trying to soothe her.

“ _It’s Sarah! I have somebody I want you to meet!”_

David nods, buzzing his sister in. She’s been talking for a while about the new girl she’s seeing, dying for David to meet her, but it hasn’t worked out yet. Apparently Sarah took matters into her own hands.

Before long, Sarah bursts into the apartment.

“David!”

“Hey, Sarah,” he says, kissing her cheek. He moves into the living room space, trusting that Sarah and her girlfriend will follow him in.

“C’mon, love, don’t be shy,” Sarah says behind him. “I know he’s pretty tall, but he’s a pushover. Couldn’t pull off a ‘don’t hurt my sister’ threat if he tried.”

David turns around when he reaches the couch. He locks eyes with Sarah’s girlfriend, who’s a half-step behind his sister.

All the air leaves David’s lungs at once.

He feels, distantly, a lot like that time he caught Les falling down the stairs and hit the ground with the full weight of his twelve-year-old brother on his chest.

There, smiling apologetically at him over Sarah’s shoulder and looking rather stunned herself, is Katie _fucking_ Pulitzer. There’s no mistaking her for anyone else, even though Sarah hasn’t said her name yet. She’s still fucking _gorgeous_ , which isn’t fair because David is a hot mess every day of his life because he has a 21-month-old _baby_.

Kate’s baby.

Almost instinctively, David hugs Leah a little tighter to his chest.

“David, this is Katherine,” Sarah says, apparently oblivious to the fact that there’s no oxygen left in the room. “Kath, my twin brother David.”

Kate seems to be waiting for him to make the first move, nervous anticipation written across her features. He can see in her eyes that she wasn’t expecting Sarah’s brother to be _him_ any more than he was expecting Sarah’s girlfriend to be Kate.

“Nice to meet you, Katherine,” he chokes out, trying to keep his tone steady and cool but not sure he’s accomplished it.

“Likewise,” Kate replies. She looks relieved. David can’t blame her; he could shatter whatever fledgling relationship she has with Sarah with three words.

A small part of him, the part that still aches with loss and loneliness curses this woman’s very existence some nights, wonders why he doesn’t. The part of him that loves his sister, that knows how happy Kate’s been making her, that still somewhat despite himself loves Kate, is much bigger than the bitter part, though.

“This is my daughter,” David says, shifting Leah in his arms. “Her name is Leah. Leah, can you say hi to Aunt Sarah’s friend Kate?”

Leah lifts her head off of David’s chest, waving at Kate. “Hi Kay.”

“Oh, David, Katherine actually doesn’t like being called Kate,” Sarah says.

 _Good_.

“It’s alright,” Kate replies, putting a hand on Sarah’s arm. “Kate is probably easier for her to say, anyway.”

“If you’re sure,” Sarah says, looking concerned. “You usually hate it.”

“I can call you Katherine if that’s what you prefer,” says David. It takes a shocking amount of willpower to get the words out. He’s starting to feel a little dizzy. “It just slipped out. Easier for Lee to say, like you said.”

Kate’s face shifts through a few different expressions – sadness, pain, forced smile – before she speaks again. “It’s alright, David.”

David nods. “If you’re sure.” The dizzy, disorienting feeling is getting stronger, and he waves toward the couch before sitting in the armchair. “Feel free to sit down, we can get to know each other a little better.”

Kate looks more than a little pale herself, but Sarah doesn’t seem to have noticed the thick layer of tension that’s settled over the room. She steers the conversation into talking about Kate’s job in journalism and how they met.

They don’t stay too long, really, and when they’re gone David takes what feels like the first breath he’s had in an hour.

Leah’s little hand pats his cheek, drawing his attention down to her.

“Da cry?” she asks, her face crinkling in confusion.

“Am I?” David says. He shifts Leah’s weight so that he can brush away the dampness around his eyes with one hand. “That was overwhelming. Leah, can you say _overwhelming_?”

“O’wemy.”

“Good job,” says David with a weak laugh. Leah nods, smiling at him. David takes a few breaths, trying to steady himself. He still feels very wrongfooted, but the longer the girls are gone the more grounded he feels.

He stands up, bouncing Leah a few times and earning a little giggle. He has a feeling he’ll feel better if he’s not alone. “Bean, do you want to go see what Cesco is up to? Let’s go see what Cesco is up to.”

“Cesco!” Leah repeats, grinning. Her baby toothy smile always gives David a warm, happy feeling, and right now it cuts through some of the tense chill that’s still coursing through him.

They cross the hall to the Higgins-Conlons’ place. Tony answers the door. He frowns at David, but doesn’t say what he’s thinking until Leah’s been set down to play what’s sure to be a rousing game of _knock over Frankie’s blocks_ on the floor.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Daves,” he says, his voice low. “You okay?”

David nods, not trusting his voice not to shake.

“Bull,” says Sean. “You’re white as a fuuuu-“ he bites down on the curse, scrunching his face up. “- as a sheet.”

“I’m fine,” says David, but it’s ragged.

Tony shifts a little closer to David on the couch, touching his hand. “What’s wrong, Daves? You don’t have to lie to us.”

It is at this exact moment that it occurs to David that he doesn’t actually have a lie ready. He’d come over to not be alone, and to break down a little without having to worry about Leah, but it hadn’t quite occurred to him that they would want to know why he’s breaking down.

He’s still getting used to letting people care about him again.

“I –“ a half-truth? – “I ran into Leah’s mom earlier.”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Sean breaths, not bothering to self-censor this time. “No wonder you’re in rough shape.”

“We gotta go hunt her down for ya?” Tony asks, his tone light. His hand tightens a little on David’s, though.

“No,” David says quickly. “No, it’s fine, I’m fine. I just wanted –“ He hesitates.

“What, Daves?” prompts Sean. He nudges David with his elbow.

“I didn’t want to be alone,” says David. He looks over at Leah, watching her play and trying to feel a little less adrift. “I was caught off guard; it’s been a long time. Thought I might feel a little better around you guys.”

That’s all it takes for Tony – who’s naturally a much more tactile and openly affectionate guy than either David or Sean – to throw his arms around David in a tight hug. The hug doesn’t surprise David, although it’s incredibly comforting. No, what surprises him is Sean’s hand, coming up to rub slow circles on David’s back.

“We’re here for you, okay?” Sean says. “Any time, don’t hesitate.”

David wants to say this is a one time thing, wants to say he’s not going to panic every time he runs into Katie, but he realizes he can’t guarantee that. He doesn’t want to feel like this much of a mess every time she’s around, especially if she and Sarah are going to work out – and god, as much as seeing her was like a knife to his heart, he can see them working, he wants them to work because he loves them so much and Sarah suits Kate so much more than he did and –

A choked sob escapes David, and Tony’s grip on him tightens.

“It’s been so long, and I – I couldn’t _breathe_ ,” says David. “And I was holding Leah and I just – I just –“

“Shh, Dave, it’s okay,” Sean says softly. “It’s okay, we got’cha.”

Tony doesn’t say anything, he just holds David until he’s cried himself out. When David finally pulls away, sitting back up, one of Tony’s hands stays at the back of his neck, tracing shapes on the skin at the base of David’s skull with his fingernails.

“Whaddya want for dinner, Daves?” Tony asks casually, like David didn’t just have a minor breakdown.

David laughs, and it’s way more normal sounding than he expects it to be. “Oh, god, I don’t know.”

“Let’s order in,” Tony says. He taps his hand against David’s neck, thinking. “S’been a while since we had Chinese, right?”

“Ages,” replies Sean. “I’ll go order.”

The normalcy of it is both slightly baffling and incredibly comforting, and David turns a grateful expression on Tony after tracking Sean when he walks to the kitchen.

“Thanks, Tones.”

Tony squeezes the back of David’s neck one more time before pulling his hand back into his own lap. “You’re family, Daves. We’re here for ya.”

Later that night, a lot later, after playing with toddlers and takeout and a movie on the couch with his two best friends in the world, David digs through his text messages for a contact he hasn’t sought out in over a year but couldn’t bring himself to delete.

_To: Katie Mine_

Seeing the nickname makes David feel almost physically sick. Before he lets himself compose the text he needs to send, he goes in and edits Kate’s contact name.

_To: K_

_I think we need to talk._

Kate’s response is almost instantaneous.

_K: Yeah, Day. I think we do._


End file.
